Is the Art of Personal Style Lost?

THE WEEKLY EDIT:
Watching: The Super Models on Apple+
You better work! This four-part docuseries takes you through the rise of a cultural phenomenon: Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford aka the original supermodels. I'm on episode 3 and can't wait to get into bed each night to watch it - it's soooo good! Iconic! And feels like a fitting rec given today's topic.

Doing: TSS MAMA
One of the workout apps I pay for is Megan Roup’s ‘The Sculpt Society’ so I was really excited to see her new pre/post-natal program called ‘TSS Mama.’ It includes prenatal classes for every trimester, pelvic floor, 360 breathing, postpartum floor and core recovery with a nice balanced mix of low-impact workouts, stretching, breathing and meditations. I’m particularly excited about her post-natal offering since I’ll be there in no time! 

Listening: Good Instincts
Shameless plug - I'm a guest on Shira Barlow's 'Good Instincts!' You can have a listen to the episode here where we talk about aging, the end of the hot girl era, The In-Between, boundaries on the internet, and more!  I really enjoyed being a guest as I have listened to her pod since the beginning and love it! She’s a registered dietitian who shares tips and tricks to help uncomplicate your relationship with food and goes deep into all sorts of related topics, has excellent product recommendations, and is just all around super cozy.

Wearing: PSL Attire 
Pumpkin spiced lattes are trending, and I'm not just talking about the drinks or the makeup trend. I'm talking about attire! More specifically, shades of caramel, khaki, and brown to play up the season (for example).

Also, little fun fact: in this past year, pumpkin-flavored products accounted for $787 million in national sales, including pumpkin spice hummus and pumpkin spice deodorant. Insane! (via NYT)

Using: The Doré Ice Roller
If you've followed me long enough, you may recall that I played a role in the Amazon ice roller going viral. Many years later, I've used the clunky soft green plastic face roller to awaken and depuff every day until recently when an improved version launched.

Enter: Le Glaçon by Dorè

This is a great update! The roller itself is stainless (I’ve never loved the plastic of the Amazon one tbh) and has a nice little cover for cleanliness. It's more compact with solid weight to it, which helps give a deeper face massage and I find the slimmer design easier to manipulate around small facial features. Ideal for draining lymphatic puffiness and to help boost circulation. I requested a discount code, and they were kind enough to give us one: GERIXDORE for 10% off (not sponsored!).

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ALRIGHT, LET’S GET INTO IT:
Is the Art of Personal Style Lost?

I couldn't sleep the other night, so I put on old 'Sex and The City' reruns to help lull me back to slumber (don't we all?).  I hadn't watched this particular season in about a year which, in my opinion, is the perfect amount of time between binges. Just long enough to forget all the details but close enough to feel like you're picking up where you left off with old friends. 

While re-watching for the umpteenth time, I couldn’t help but find myself fixated on appearances. Particularly how much appearances have changed since the show's conclusion in 2004. Right before my sleep-deprived eyes, everyone on the glowing screen seemed to have distinct personal style and unique natural faces. The sight of which made me long for the days when copy-and-paste style wasn’t ubiquitous and faces weren’t morphing into one of the same. 

Let's start with personal style. Sure, Patricia Fields, and what I can only imagine was a very large styling staff, carefully created iconic identities for each main character through the best wardrobe TV has ever seen - the show revolutionized fashion and how women get dressed after all - but Fields did so brilliantly by infusing unwavering originality and individuality. Each character's style had depth, a connection to who they were, and notes reflective of their points of view as New Yorkers. Charlotte was preppy - she was cable knit Ralph Lauren, Burberry raincoats, Chanel suits and headbands. Outfit choices aligned with her modest ideals, polite ways, and Upper East Side lifestyle. Samantha Jones’ style was daring, bold, and sexy - just like her on all accords. It was plunging necklines, bodycon dresses, sultry separates, and power suits, often in outspoken colors, loud handbags, and statement jewelry. Miranda's style embodied her ambition - tailored suits, no-frill dresses, sharp coats, and sensible shoes to pair with her smart haircut.  And then there was Carrie who inspired us all to have fun with fashion, play with textures and proportions, buy Manolo’s, and wear a gold cursive nameplate necklace. Carrie’s “personal style” was so strong that it emboldened us to discover and embrace our own.

My captivation of personal style while watching the show didn’t stop with the main characters. It was everywhere - in the supporting cast, the extras, and anyone on camera. Each outfit and article of clothing felt unique to who was wearing it. A uniqueness that could also be seen in everyone's faces. Regal noses, fine lines, emoting foreheads, small lips, imperfect teeth, uneven skin, makeup that looks like makeup, people who looked like people. A glaring juxtaposition relative to the humans I’d consumed on a reality show earlier that evening.

The next day, I opened Instagram, and the first three consecutive photos were of girls wearing menswear-inspired tailored vests with matching wide-leg trousers. A great look on them all, but one that’s become an IG uniform of sorts. It seems that there’s always a handful of uniforms circulating at any given time, copy and pasted by many. Insert: a trench with New Balances, an oversized blazer with a minidress, Sambas with a Khaite/TOTEME-esque striped turtleneck, etc. 

Adopting trends isn’t anything new; we all bought the low-rise Frankie B’s thanks to Britney, coveted the Chloe studded boots a la Sienna Miller, and channeled Kate Moss through everything - but it was different pre-social media and pre the explosion of fast fashion. It was less manufactured, less contrived, less algorithmic, less ubiquitous. Personal style was more about the journey than the destination. It was about figuring out who you were, exploring your identity through fabrics and fits, navigating sexuality, accumulating a closet you loved via travels and finds, sorting through what made you feel most like you, and ultimately deciding what to wear as a way of saying something about yourself to the world. Now, if one wears enough of the same type of uniform, it can become an entire personality: coastal cowgirl, rich mom energy, old money aesthetic, etc. More copy-and-paste words to put over copy-and-paste style.

Between the individuality of ‘Sex and The City’ and the lack thereof on my feed the following day, I couldn’t help but think about the dying art of developing personal style. A way of expressing oneself that was once sacred now seems to get lost in the cultural and algorithm shuffle. Eyes glazed over from far too many GRWM videos, #ootd photos and shopping links on stories that fill our closets with the same items that the other hundred thousand followers bought from the same influencers who are all recommending the same as the next. It’s become far too easy to click, order, unbox and slip on omnipresent uniforms than to scour racks of vintage, pluck shoes off a shelf from department store obscurity, and cobble together an outfit that feels authentic and refreshing. One that is YOU. And where is the fun in that?

Don’t get me wrong, I do it too. I get a lot of outfit inspiration from Instagram, discover most of what I wear there, and buy quite a bit through social media, but it is a love/hate relationship. As helpful as it is to follow the trends and source the latest sneakers, and get good outfit inspo, I miss the days of true personal style. When celebrities were effortlessly cool naturally and not because a stylist was able to make them appear that way. When girls at the grocery store didn’t all have on the same Bottega earring (or the Amazon dupe). When we’d see chic girls out in the world that made you feel something like a girl crush or a curiosity, perhaps? 

If we’re all morphing into similar dressed versions of copy-and-paste outfits, whether we realize it’s happening or not, does anyone still have true personal style?

And with that, here are a few of my favorite uniform makers with original style. Girls that have the outfit trickle-down effect. Who comes to mind for you when it comes to great personal style?

1. Monica Rose
I really wish Monica posted more outfits of herself because there are few people with style as good as hers. But instead of focusing on herself, she's focused on dressing the most famous people in the world, pushing her vision, micro-trends and macro-trends louder in the cultural sphere than one could ever quantify. She's responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales as girls take note of their favorite celebrity outfits (styled by Mon) which they then shop for to recreate themselves. I like to think of Monica as a fashion fortune teller of sorts. Anytime she tells me to buy something or wear something or puts someone in something original, it becomes THE uniform. Sometimes within days or months, but other times it may take years before one of her visions is fully realized into the mass market. 

2. Angela Fink
I first met Angela on set in 2009. She was working as a stylist for WhoWhatWear, who was shooting a feature on bloggers, and I was included. She put me in an epic disco-ball one-shoulder Balmain dress and we've remained close friends ever since. Her styling career has evolved over the years, and now she splits her time between entrepreneurial endeavors and working as a content creator where she's a front-row fixture at top shows like Chanel. And she's front row for a reason: industry insiders know that a lot of the trends start with her. Her shoulder-rubbing with big content creators is more like outfit rubbing. When she wears something, the other big creators who follow her/whom she's surrounded by at events take note and recreate her looks. The results often lead to sold-out pieces and/or IG uniforms that reach the masses. Once you start following her, if you don't already, you'll see what I mean.

3. Courtney Grow
Courtney is one of the influencers who constantly has me swiping up. When she links something, you know it's going to be good! And it's a perfect mix of high low - H&M finds and Khaite closet builders, girly dresses and tough leather jackets. She strikes a really good balance - a balance other creators take note of and emulate, often co-opting her recommendations. Trends you can credit her for going viral include mesh flats, horseshoe jeans and beaded phone charm chains.

4 & 5. Cecilie Moosgaard Nielsen and Amalie Moosgaard Nielsen
At first glance, these Copenhagen-based twin sisters have simple style, but the deeper you dive, the more there is to unearth. And once you’ve seen them, you’ll start noticing them and their exact outfits reposted/recreated all over the internet as their laid-back styling paired with perfect LIÉ STUDIO jewelry (created by them) is quintessential “less is more.” If you’re ever wondering what some of the classic uniforms are at the moment, just take a scroll through either of their profiles.

6. Drew Ginsburg
Drew and her personal style took the internet by storm when she launched her jewelry line, DYLANLEX, which spread through the culture like wildfire, Beyoncé included. She is a maximalist creative genius who can take the simplest of outfits and turn them into show stopping creative genius looks. She has an entire series dedicated to it on the gram called “this could be a normal outfit but I'm me.” Watch a few and you’ll pick up what I’m putting down! There’s simply nobody out there with her style.

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Make This Week:
Banana Blueberry Smoothie (breakfast)
Warm Fig Arugula Salad (lunch)
Crispy Fish Tacos (dinner)
Green Thai Curry (dinner)
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake